The Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17)

We can see that the sword of the Spirit is the weapon that a Christian soldier uses as he defends himself against the enemy’s schemes. The obvious implication is that the sword should only be used by someone who has the armour on. At the same time, we can see that the armour without the sword is not sufficient. Both the armour and the sword are necessary for a successful outcome. This is how we can be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

What or who is the model that Paul has in mind when he refers to a soldier wearing armour. Two suggestions have been made. One is that he has in mind a Roman soldier because he would have seen many of them in his travels and he may even have been chained to one as he wrote this letter. The other suggestion is that he is thinking of Jesus because Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come wearing armour (Isa. 59:17). Personally, I would suggest that we combine both suggestions, arguing that Paul wants us to imitate Jesus but uses the Roman armour to illustrate his points.

The enemy

Paul’s description of the enemy forces indicates that each believer faces an organised, large and battle-experienced foe under the control of the devil. They are marked by wickedness and cunning, which means that Christian soldiers should be ready for surprise attacks. Paul mentions various levels of importance, which may be a reminder that they also recognise levels of importance of individuals in the Lord’s army.

We can imagine that they would pay more attention to the apostles than they would to those we can describe as ordinary Christians, that they would attack church leaders more than ordinary believers. With regard to the church in Ephesus, perhaps the leaders would be under special attack and we know that previously Paul had warned them of spiritual dangers ahead. The one thing that we can be certain of is that they definitely wish us harm and want to destroy our effectiveness.

The battlefield

Paul identifies the battlefield as ‘the heavenly realms’, which we may find surprising because many people interpret this phrase as describing heaven. The phrase is only found in this letter, so in order to understand where this location is, we need to look at the other references to it in this letter. In Ephesians 1:3, we find that the location is the place where Christians experience and enjoy spiritual blessings; in 1:20, it is the place where Jesus is exalted; in 2:6, it is the area that believers share with the risen, exalted Lord; in 3:10, Paul says that heavenly authorities are found there, and they could be good or bad Angels; and here it is the place of conflict. So we can deduce that the battle is concerned with believers receiving benefits connected to their God-given blessings. As Paul says later, the goal is for believers to stand their ground or the position they have received from God and prevent the devil and his hosts from causing them to move.

The armour

Paul mentions six pieces of armour and it looks as if three of them are always worn by a believer and three are used when a spiritual battle occurs, which is very frequently. The three are the belt, the breastplate and the sandals. Paul is following the order in which a Roman soldier would don the various pieces.

First, a soldier would have his undergarments tied by a belt so that they would not trip him up in a battle. The equivalent of the belt is truth, both objective truth and subjective truth, and such truth is to control our inner man (the parts below the armour). As far as objective truth is concerned, probably Paul means the truth of the gospel regarding how to be saved, although he also could mean the truth of God’s overall purpose of salvation, His point is obvious. If we do not know these details, and if we do not apply them to ourselves, then we will be tripped up very easily in the battle. With regard to subjective truth, Paul is saying that a Christian soldier must be truthful in character and in all his contact with other people. If lies are told, he will have no power, and will be defeated.

Second, Paul mentions the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate protected the heart and lungs. It was essential for such organs to have ongoing protection in a battle. A wound here and the battle would soon be over, and it would be a defeat. The breastplate is righteousness, but we need to ask what kind of righteousness. Is it the righteousness of Jesus or is it the believer’s own obedience? The latter cannot give full protection, so we can deduce that Paul is referring to the former. And we should not be surprised because the reality is that none of the arrows of the enemy cannot get past the righteousness of Jesus imputed to every believer.

Third, Paul refers to the footwear of the soldier, an item that was very important because he had to stand his ground in the battle. If he had on sandals that did not fit exactly, he could easily fall or be toppled over. The standing of a Christian is connected to the fact that he is at peace with God, that he knows he has been reconciled to God for ever. Such an assurance gives great stability.

Those three great truths depicted in the first three pieces of armour describe the moment by moment experience of a Christian. He understands the plan of God, he has been given the righteousness of Jesus, and he know that he is reconciled to God. These are wonderful blessings, yet more are needed when under spiritual attack. So Paul mentions three more pieces of armour, with one being the sword of the Spirit.

Another is the shield of faith, which Paul says can extinguish the flaming arrows fired by the devil. The shield was a small one that a soldier used to prevent arrows penetrating. It had to be flexible, because the arrows could come from various directions, some aimed at the body and others at the head.. We can imagine a soldier having to deflect one temptation about this activity and another temptation about another activity, and those darts of temptation coming continually.

The shield depicts a faith that knows how to resist temptation, which means the soldier knows how to apply the contents of God’s Word by faith. It was the custom for soldiers to soak their shields in water in order that any arrows that stuck to them would be defused or extinguished. Faith is made wet by the ministry of the Spirit keeping our faith fresh. The Spirit works through his Word to help his people.

The other piece of armour is the helmet of salvation. A soldier put on a helmet to protect his mind, because if it was damaged he would not be able to fight, and his eyes, because if they were damaged he could see far ahead of him. The equivalent of the ordinary helmet is the hope of salvation. This is a reference to the future deliverance that Jesus will give to his soldiers when they march in the victory parade when he returns. The Christian soldier stands his ground by looking ahead to glory and by reminding himself to think constantly about the guaranteed victory he will enjoy. In the heat of the battle he must remain clear-headed and think about the glory to come.

The sword of the Spirit   

Paul’s description of the sword reminds us who is the originator of the word of God. There are many human authors of the Bible, but they were guided by the Spirit to produce his book. Since that is the case, we can be assured that the Bible is the Word of God, inspired by the Spirit and infallible in its contents. Yet Paul means more than merely recognising that the Bible is the Word of God.

Paul’s description of the Bible as a sword is also a reminder of the purpose why God gave it to us – it is the only weapon we can use that will be effective against the enemy. The devil will not be moved by our displays of intelligence or by fine sounding words. He will not be affected by words of bravado, and they are quite common among believers. Instead a sword was a weapon that was used to defeat enemies soundly. So we need to use it in order to stand firm.

Connected to this point is the reality that the sword of the Spirit should be used by all believers as they stand together against the foe. This means that Paul thought that every believer should be using the Bible simultaneously. If I choose to use something else, I weaken the corporate campaign. For example, the Bible says that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. If I choose not to obey that instruction, I deprive myself of blessing and also disturb others who become worried as to where I am.

Since that is the case, we need to ask ourselves which parts of the Bible are useful in spiritual warfare. In one sense, any part of it would be. For example, if I was being tempted by the devil, would I find any help in reading the genealogies? At first glance, we might say no. Yet what if we started to think about how the names in the list coped with temptations. If we did that, we would find a lot of spiritual help.

Having said that we can use all of the Word of God, we should also note that this may not be the particular emphasis that Paul is making here. After all, when he wrote the letter, most of the New Testament was not available. James Boice points out that there is something significant in the term used by Paul and translated as ‘word’. Paul could have used logos or rhema, both of which mean ‘word’. Logos refers to something big, such as a message, whereas rhema can refer to something shorter such as a verse or a sentence. Paul uses rhema, and Boice deduces from this choice that Paul is telling his readers that they should use short sentences or verses from the Bible when repelling attacks of the enemy. After all, this is what Jesus did when he resisted the devil’s temptations in the desert during the forty days after his baptism, when he cited three verses from the Book of Deuteronomy. In doing so, he defeated the devil in the most uncongenial of situations.

Since we need to use the Bible, it is important that we know what it says. The psalmist wrote, ‘I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.’ He regarded the Word as treasure and his heart he likened to a vault for holding treasures. In Psalm 1, we read about the blessed man who mediated continually on the Word of God, with the outcome that he became a stable and fruitful believer. It is impossible to use the sword in a casual manner. Instead we have to be in earnest.

Attitudes

The fact that the Bible is the Word of God should cause us to have confidence in its efficacy. Do we have any examples in the Bible of a person using God’s Word properly and being denied its power? The answer is that God does what he has promised. Can the enemy resist the wounds of this sword when used properly? No, he cannot. Therefore, we should use it.

Another attitude that we should have is use it in a consecrated manner. Is it true that all we need to do is quote a Bible verse in order to defeat the enemy? The answer is no. If I am tolerating sin in my heart, whether in my attitudes or in my failure to acknowledge when I have done wrong, quoting the Bible will not work when we try and use it. We don’t need to be perfect in order to use this weapon, but we do need to be devoted.

A third attitude to have when wielding the sword is carefulness. After all, when the devil tempted the Saviour in the desert, he cited a Bible verse in his temptation. Not every verse that comes to our mind is suitable. Indeed the devil can misquote a verse in order to cause confusion. He did that to Jesus, so why should he not do it with us? We need to be very careful when handling the sword. Some people misapply verses to other Christians merely because they do not like comments or opinions that the other believers have expressed. Or we can try and use a verse to contradict a clear meaning of another verse merely to suit ourselves.

Then a fourth attitude we need to have is the determination to use the Word of God continually. It is possible that initially a use of the sword may not cause the enemy to flee. After all, when Jesus used the sword against the devil in the desert, the devil returned twice with another temptation until eventually he fled. So we need to persist and not give in to the danger of compromise and combine the sword with other ways.

The final aspect that we need to keep in mind is that using the sword means we fight the enemy at close quarters. After all, a sword is not a rifle. The closeness of the battle is also illustrated in Paul’s use of wrestling to describe our contact with the spiritual powers. So we should not be surprised if we get a blow in return. But that is why we should wear the armour God has arranged for us to wear and use the sword he has provided.